Is it just best to ALWAYS make a high poly model, even on simple objects? (Assuming you're importing into UDK) This for example: Very simple yet, would it make that much of a difference if I had a normal map on it or not?
The problem with that is that with a very simple object, adding in support loops should take you like 30 seconds. Which is honestly probably about the same amount of time it takes to set up a special shader and bake(which is only available in certain apps). IMO any time you have unique uvs for the entire object you should…